J 2021

Cold arousal - A mechanism used by hibernating bats to reduce the energetic costs of disturbance

BACHOREC, Erik, Tomáš BARTONIČKA, Tomáš HEGER, Jiří PIKULA, Jan ZUKAL et. al.

Basic information

Original name

Cold arousal - A mechanism used by hibernating bats to reduce the energetic costs of disturbance

Authors

BACHOREC, Erik (703 Slovakia, belonging to the institution), Tomáš BARTONIČKA (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution), Tomáš HEGER, Jiří PIKULA and Jan ZUKAL (203 Czech Republic, belonging to the institution)

Edition

Journal of Thermal Biology, Elsevier Ltd. 2021, 0306-4565

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Článek v odborném periodiku

Field of Study

10600 1.6 Biological sciences

Country of publisher

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

References:

Impact factor

Impact factor: 3.189

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14310/21:00122665

Organization unit

Faculty of Science

UT WoS

000710182900002

Keywords in English

Hibernation; Myotis myotis; Normothermic arousal; Thermal profile; Torpor

Tags

Tags

International impact, Reviewed
Změněno: 5/11/2021 13:49, Mgr. Marie Šípková, DiS.

Abstract

V originále

During the season of hibernation, temperate bats alternate between prolonged bouts of torpor with reduced body temperature and short arousals with a return to normothermy. Hibernating bats are sensitive to non-tactile stimuli and arouse following changes in microclimatic conditions or disturbance from other bats, potential predators, or humans. Here, we used temperature data loggers to register the skin temperature of 38 Myotis myotis bats over two winters (between January and March), during which regular visits were made to the hibernaculum. Two kinds of arousal were observed, normothermic (Tsk > 25 °C) and cold (Tsk < 15 °C). Although bats responded to the presence of a researcher by arousals of both kinds, cold arousals were more frequent (63.8%). We found that mass loss was not affected by the number of disturbances, however it was in positive relationship with the mass at the beginning of the observation and differed between sex and age categories. Furthermore normothermic bats crawling among cluster-mates initiated arousal cascades, which mainly consisted of cold arousals. We failed to detect any effect of age or sex on the number of arousals initiated by normothermic individuals. Warming by only a few degrees requires less energy than a normothermic arousal and we propose it is sufficient to activate the sensory system in order to assess the relevance of external stimuli. Our results indicate that cold arousals reflect a physiological and behavioural adaptation aimed at avoiding the energetic costs of disturbance that can lead to depletion of fat reserves.

Links

MUNI/A/1098/2019, interní kód MU
Name: Výzkum Ekologických a Evolučních Principů na modelu obratlovců a jejich parazitů
Investor: Masaryk University, Category A